Emmeline had been on a field trip to LuthorCorp before. It hadn't gone well. So she was not happy to be going on another one two years later, especially when Lionel Luthor was such a threatening figure in her and Chloe's life now. At least she had Clark and Chloe with her.

"Ah, Advanced Economics, Smallville's best and brightest," Lionel greeted the students. "Welcome to LuthorCorp."

The three friends shared an uneasy look, still angry with the man after all he had put them through in the past several months.

"Now, you're all here to learn something about business. The most important element in anything to do with economic theory is the individual. Yes, you." He pointed at one of their excited classmates as Chloe rolled her eyes. "Traditional rules, supply and demand, they're secondary. But to rise above those rules, to know when to break them, requires absolute personal commitment. I consider it a prerequisite for success."

The class members applauded, but the three friends did not join in.

"And I consider it despicable, immoral, and possibly illegal," Chloe said to them.

"I'm sorry, do you have a question?" Lionel asked Chloe. Chloe looked over at him and quickly lowered her eyes in embarrassment. "No. Anybody else? No? All right, then I'll hand you back over to Mr. Simms."

"All right, group," the tour guide said with a smile. "Follow me."

As he led the group to the elevators, Lionel approached the trio. "Miss Sullivan. Miss Brooks. Mr. Kent. Well, it's nice to see you both looking to the future."

Emmeline felt her heartbeat pick up a little in the presence of the man who had the power to ruin their lives with a snap of his fingers. Knowing that he was capable of doing whatever he wanted to her and could easily get away with it scared her more than public speaking.

Lionel walked away from the three of them. They all started heading to join the others in the elevator.

"What do you say we make a break for the fire escape?" Chloe asked dryly.

"I could crawl down all 39 stories if this field trip didn't count toward our final grade," Clark lamented.

"Welcome to the Lionel Luthor exhibit. Next floor: Victims, sycophants, and hatchet men."

"How about I split up this jaded little fan club?" their teacher said as Chloe and Emmeline stepped into the elevator. "Mr. Kent, take the next car."

Chloe waved to Clark as the elevator doors closed.

Emmeline felt rather uncomfortable in the small and cramped elevator with too many of her fellow classmates. She did what Chloe had taught her and took some deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth. She hadn't had to use these kinds of exercises in a while, but they certainly came in handy when she did need them.

When they all stepped out of the elevator, LuthorCorp workers were scrambling all over the place, yelling about a malfunctioning elevator.

Wait a minute…wasn't Clark on the elevator…?

The class rushed down the building where they saw Clark and another girl unharmed.

"Are you two all right?" their teacher asked near tears.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, we're okay. Um, the elevator crashed just as we got out of the doors. It sounded like the cable broke."

"How did that happen?" Chloe asked frantically.

"I-I don't know, Chloe."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Emmeline noticed Clark share a look with one of their classmates, Alicia Baker. She had a feeling that there was more to the story than Clark was telling. But then again, that was usually the case with him.


Emmeline groaned as she walked into the Torch office.

"Someone's been burning the candle at both ends," Chloe remarked upon seeing her exhausted friend.

"I had to spend all day in court yesterday to deal with this whole custody case."

"Yuck. And I thought sitting here trying to pump out the next issue was bad."

"It was so boring, and Hannah didn't even look at me once. She knows how upset I am about this whole thing, but she is convinced that I'll be happier if I move to New York with her. I just wish she would take the time to understand how I really feel."

"Why don't you tell her about this?"

"I have. Over and over and over again. But she won't listen to me because she believes that because she's my biological mother, she knows what's best. But she isn't my mom. My mom is the woman who raised me from birth and knows me better than anyone else in the world and will do anything to make me smile. We may not be related by blood, but Audrey Brooks is my true mother."

"Have you talked about this with Pete?"

"…Pete and I haven't really talked much in the past few days. We're in a bit of a rut ever since the whole racing incident."

"Ah, yes. Well, take it from me, don't let that one situation completely wreck your whole relationship. He's told me that he's really sorry for what he put you through, and he truly does want to make amends."

"I believe that. I don't know…I guess…part of me is afraid that something else will happen that will start this whole mess over again."

"There probably will be something like that. But true relationships take work. It's not always all about the lovey-dovey The Notebook side of things. There's also the moments where you're both angry and need to work through problems. In the end, the relationship will only grow stronger because of it."

"Since when did you become such an expert on love?"

"You know I'm right."

"Yeah…" Emmeline admitted.

"Now that that's out of the way, have you heard about Clark and his new girlfriend?"

"Wait, what?"

"Do you know Alicia Baker?"

"She's in our Econ class, right?"

"Yeah. Last night, Clark's dad caught him in a serious make-out session with her in his bedroom."

"How did you hear about this?"

"I guess Alicia couldn't keep her mouth shut because basically everyone in the school knows by now."

"…How are you taking this news?"

Chloe's face reddened a bit. "Well…I mean…he's my friend, so it's not like I can say much."

"Oh, stop. You're jealous, and I know you are."

"Okay, maybe I'm a little jealous. I just don't understand how they got to that level so fast! He's talked to her for, like, two days and already they're making out? What's her secret?"

"If we knew the answer to that, we probably could've dated him two years ago."

"You're one to talk. You already have a boyfriend."

"Yes, and it's no less complicated than dating Clark would be."

After working on the Torch for a while, Emmeline headed out into the hallway to head to her next class.

"Hey, Clark!" she called as she walked over to her friend.

"Oh, hi, Em," Clark answered with no smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, it's nothing."

"Does it have to do with Alicia?"

"Uh…sort of."

"What's going on? I won't judge, I promise."

"She's just…going so fast. She somehow managed to put these, um, pictures in my locker and you probably heard about what happened last night…"

"Well, if she's making you uncomfortable, you have to let her know."

"I'm trying, but she's so persistent. I feel like I can barely get a word in."

"Clark, no one wants to be uncomfortable in a relationship, believe me. The only way to deal with this is getting your feelings out in the open and work through them with each other."

"Like you're doing with Pete?"

"Don't avoid the subject. And for your information, I've shared with him how I felt and now we're both just dealing with that. Talk to her, and let her know how you feel. I'm sure she'll understand. And if she doesn't, then maybe she's just not the right girl for you. I don't doubt that you share a certain kind of connection with her, but a relationship is built on more than just a connection made in a day. A good relationship is built on understanding, respect, and knowing what the other person wants. If Alicia doesn't give that to you, then she probably just needs to mature a little bit before pursuing a relationship with you or any relationship for that matter."

"You know, I never thought I'd be coming to you for relationship advice."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Clark's cheeks turned a light scarlet. "Oh! Uh…I didn't mean…You know…"

Emmeline laughed. "Relax. I never thought I'd be the one giving relationship advice."


Things took a turn for the worse when Alicia's relationship with Clark quickly turned into an unhealthy obsession. In fact, she was now threatening to hurt people close to Clark if he didn't remain with her.

Clark came into the Torch office and revealed that Alicia actually had the ability to teleport.

That certainly explained the whole elevator incident…

"I'm really sorry she went all Glenn Close on you," Chloe said.

"I should have told you both about Alicia's ability before. But she'd asked me to keep it a secret."

"Yeah, and we respect you for keeping her confidence. But once she went psycho, all bets are off."

"So how do you look for someone who can disappear in the blink of an eye whenever she wants?"

Chloe's brow furrowed in thought. "Well, we know that Alicia has at least one weakness. You."

Clark's eyes lit up a little when a thought hit him. "She may have one more. Chloe, I have an idea. I'm gonna need your help."

"What about me?" Emmeline asked.

"I want you to sit this one out."

"How come?"

"Remember that, uh, advice you gave me? Alicia overheard our conversation, so she's not too happy with you at the moment."

"Oh, perfect. Alright, then I'll just go meet up with Lana at the Talon and help her lock up for the night or something. I know she's a little frazzled with Adam, so maybe I could be of some comfort. I have to be doing something."

"That's good. I'll let you know when everything's taken care of."

"Okay. Be careful."

Emmeline headed over to the Talon while Clark and Chloe took care of Alicia.

"Lana?" Emmeline called as she walked up to the counter.

"Hey, Em! What are you doing here?"

"Clark and Chloe are busy, so I thought I'd come here and help you lock up tonight."

"You're so sweet! I appreciate the company. I'm swamped right now, but once the rush passes, I'll have more time to talk."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll just sit and do homework. I have plenty of it."

Time passed quicker than Emmeline wanted to admit since she wasn't as productive as she should've been.

Lana came to the table and brought her a vanilla bean frappucino.

Emmeline sighed in happiness. "You're the best."

Lana laughed lightly. "I, uh, I heard that your biological mother has been giving you a hard time."

"Oh, you mean the custody case? As if high school wasn't stressful enough, I now have this on my shoulders."

"It'll all work out. I know you."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm going to take out the trash and then I just need to lock up everything, then we'll be good. Could you turn off the cappuccino machine?"

"Sure thing!"

After completing her small task, Emmeline took a sip of her frappucino and patiently waited for Lana to return.

Suddenly, her black-haired friend frantically came running back inside.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Emmeline asked as she stood up.

Lana didn't answer as she kept running through the coffee shop. She let out a gasp and Emmeline saw Alicia standing right in front of her, a large butcher knife in her hand.

"Oh, crap…"

"Tell me, Lana," Alicia said lowly as she raised the knife to Lana's neck. "What's your secret? You're not prettier than I am." She knocked over a small table between them. "And you're definitely not smarter. And you certainly don't have my abilities."

"Alicia, there is nothing going on between me and Clark," Lana forced out.

Lana pushed Alicia away and turned to run, but the teleporting girl was there before she could even make it an inch.

"Oh, yes, there is because Clark is still in love with you." She grabbed Lana's head and held the knife against her neck. "And now it's my turn."

"Alicia, don't do this!" Emmeline cried.

Alicia glared daggers at her. "You. You tried to keep us apart. Are you in love with him too?"

"Excuse me? I have a boyfriend. And I'll have you know I'm very happy with him. He may be an idiot sometimes, but that doesn't matter because I love him anyway. We let our relationship take time so we trust each other and care about one another."

"I don't need time to tell me that Clark and I are perfect for each other. He told me the truth about himself. The things that he wouldn't tell either of you!"

Alicia rammed Lana into the pillar next to the stairs causing Lana to collapse.

With no other option, Emmeline ran up to Alicia and jumped onto her back in a vicious tackle that didn't fit her personality.

However, Emmeline then fell onto the ground when Alicia disappeared from under her. When she turned around, Alicia's fist smacked her hard in the face and Emmeline went sprawling to the ground.

"Once I'm done with you, I'll take care of Lana," Alicia growled. "Now neither of you will ever know the truth."

Alicia raised the knife above her head and prepared to stab Emmeline.

"Alicia!"

Alicia turned to find Clark at the entrance to the Talon. Emmeline watched him fling what looked like a can of paint towards Alicia. She quickly turned to shield herself from the flying bucket.

There was a loud splash and Emmeline looked up again to find Alicia covered from head to foot in lead paint. She tried to teleport, but the air around her flickered green. She wasn't going anywhere.

That must've been the weakness Clark had talked about earlier.

Alicia screamed in anguish as Clark ran over to Lana. He helped her sit up and then held her close to him.

"Why, Clark?" Alicia cried. "Why?"


"Pete," Emmeline said as she approached her boyfriend after school.

"Hey, Em."

"I know we haven't been on the best of terms lately, but I need to tell you something."

"Okay," he said hesitantly.

"Last night, when Alicia almost killed me, all I could keep thinking about was you. And how that if I died, I was going to die with you thinking I was mad at you. I'm not mad, Pete. I was upset, but I'm not going to let that ruin our whole relationship. I love you too much to let that happen. I couldn't happier that we have what we have. I'm thankful that you're in my life and that you care about me so much."

Pete smiled fondly at her. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"I know. And I forgive you."

Pete gently took her face in his hands and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. They parted and smiled only for a moment before kissing again.